Old Friends, New Problems
by Apple'sBreem
Summary: Whilst Bumblebee, Sideswipe and Strongarm are on patrol in Crown City and get involved in a high-speed chase, someone from Bumblebee's past shows up at the junkyard. Someone the Lieutenant thought long gone. And then M.E.C.H. gets added onto their long list of problems. Could things get any worse? (First chapter of the prequel to this story is up)
1. Chapter 1

**Old Friends, New Problems**

 **Chapter 1**

Something was going to happen. That's all Bumblebee knew when he woke up from recharge that morning, with a fluttering feeling in his tank. He wasn't sure what it was or when it would happen, he just _knew_ that something was going to happen. He only had this feeling once before, and that was the day had met Raf and Jack.

What was it?

What was going to happen?

Was it going to be good or bad?

How would it affect his team?

Would it have something to do with the Decepticons?

So many questions were racing through his head that he hadn't noticed that he was drifting over into the other lane until a car honked at him. Swerving back onto the correct side of the road, Bumblebee pulled to a stop when the traffic light turned red. The fluttering feeling in his tank had gotten stronger, and it made him shift nervously on his tires.

Suddenly, a dark purple and silver car blurred past him, with two very _familiar_ cars following close behind. The nervous feeling in his tanks got stronger as he pressed on the gas and drove after his two teenage teammates.

"What is going on here?!" he shouted through the comm., driving up alongside Strongarm. "Strongarm!"

"Sorry, Lieutenant, I tried to stop him, but Sideswipe wouldn't listen," said the blue and white femme.

Bumblebee groaned. When was Sideswipe going to start listening? "What happened?" he asked, swerving to miss a car. Traffic was starting to pick up.

"We were patrolling the south side of the city like you told us to, then this guy comes out of nowhere – and I literately mean nowhere, Lieutenant! – scratched Sideswipe's paint and dented his rim as he sped by." Bumblebee swerved to miss two more cars before making a left turn down a deserted street, keeping close behind Strongarm before pulling up alongside her. Strongarm continued, "Then Sideswipe got mad and took off after him. Lieutenant, I think he's playing with us."

"What makes you say that?" he asked, turning onto an abandoned river bordered street.

"He's had numerous chances to lose us before and he never took them, why?"

Bumblebee mentally raised a brow in thought. Why indeed. "I don't know, Strongarm."

Bumblebee pressed on the gas and sped by Strongarm, he kept going until he was diagonal from Sideswipe, which gave him a better look at their mystery driver's car.

It was entirely dark purple, with dark red and light silver musical symbols on the doors and a silver grill (from what he could see) and dark tinted windows. For some reason, he felt like he's seen this car before. Bumblebee's optics soon made their way to the car's mirror. And his spark nearly stopped when he saw it _move_ to focus on him. A sudden memory rose up from the back of his mind. It was the day he was attacked by those two Vehicons…That's it!

They all turned onto the bridge, heading out of the city.

"Sideswipe, pull back by Strongarm, that's a 'Con you're chasing!"

"A Decepticon, are you sure?" the sports car slowed down till he was driving beside Bumblebee.

"I'm sure," he said picking up speed.

Then a ground bridge opened up directly in front of them.

Everybody (except the 'Con) tried to stop but they all ended up going through the swirling green mass. They only managed to do so after exiting the ground bridge.

Transforming, Bumblebee looked straight at the Vehicon, who was still in his vehicle mode, and took out his pistol; Strongarm did the same while Sideswipe took out the Decepticon Hunter, changing it into a mace.

"Alright, Decepticon, put 'em up!" he shouted, charging his gun.

Bumblebee was rewarded with an amused chuckle, and the sound of shifting parts alerted them that the 'Con was transforming. Parts shifted and broke apart then clicked back together, within minutes the Decepticon was standing on his – no, _her_ own two pedes, arms crossed across her chassis. Bumblebee heard Sideswipe's gasp of surprise, turning to look at the punk, he saw that he had the look of a love struck idiot.

"So, that mutt was right – there are more Cybertronians on Earth." said the femme.

Bumblebee looked back at the femme, gun raised. The femme just cocked her helm to the side and gave the gun a bored look. He gave her a cursory look over; she had to be no more than a few years younger, or the same age as, Sideswipe and Strongarm. She had the same purple coloring and build as a normal Vehicon, but where the Vehicons were dark gray and accented black, she was smoky-silver and accented red, and she had optics and a mouth instead of a mask-like face. And there was something else she didn't have that set her apart from other Vehicons – and all other Decepticons, for that matter. No insignia. From what he could see, she had no distinguishable Decepti-brand on her. While looking for her brand, his optics locked onto a short sword attached to her hip. Looking at her opposite hip, he saw a matching a short sword there, too.

Bumblebee took a tentative step forward, keeping his optics on the swords on her hips, and asked, "Who are you?"

The femme's red optics flashed in the sunlight as a small smile graced her lips. She placed her left servo over her spark and closed her optics, and gave him a small bow at the waist. "The name's Atti," Atti stood back up and crossed her arms again. "And, I must say, I never expected to see you here, _Bumblebee_."

Optics widening in surprise, Bumblebee took a step back. "How do you know my name?!"

Atti chuckled and waved her wrist at him in amusement. "Everybody knows about the young scout who defeated Megatron."

Bumblebee opened his mouth to say something, but a sudden bright green light behind him caused him to freeze and whip around, gun raised. _A ground bridge?!_

"Well, here's my ride. See ya guys!"

Before Bumblebee could turn around or even get out of the way, Atti transformed and bulldozed past him, sending him flying into Sideswipe. When the young bot was through the portal, the ground bridge disappeared with an all too familiar hiss.

"Lieutenant!" shouted Strongarm, rushing to his side. "Are you alright?"

Bumblebee nodded at her and got to his pedes, hissing when his right shoulder sparked slightly. Turning around, he helped an almost squished Sideswipe off the ground, then looked back at the space where the ground bridge once was.

"Come on," he said, transforming. "Lets go back to base, we gotta let Fixit and the others know about this."

The two teenagers transformed and followed him as he drove out of the forest and back towards the junkyard. And that's when he noticed it.

The feeling he woken up with was gone, and was replaced with a feeling of dread.


	2. Chapter 2

**Old Friends, New Problems**

 **Chapter 2**

#Back at the scrap yard, before and during the chase# %Russell's POV%

* * *

Russell was bored. Completely and utterly bored. He didn't think it was possible for someone to be this bored. But, of course, he was wrong. He would've gone with the Autobots on patrol if they weren't already gone when he woke up. Why did the guys have to go on patrol so early in the morning anyway? Russell would've gone to the park to hang out with his friends, but they had left a few days ago to go visit their families. And he would hang out with Grimlock but the Dinobot was helping his dad rearrange things to make room for some more junk that was coming in tomorrow. Sighing again, Russell kicked a rock and turned to walk back into the yard.

"Hello?"

If humans could jump out of their skins, Russell would've done so that very moment. Whipping around, Russell saw the owner of the voice. It was a woman, probably in her early twenties, with long, jet-black hair done up in a pony tail. He couldn't see her eyes because they were hidden behind a pair of sunglasses. She had her hands up in surrender, and a small frown was on her face.

"Sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to startle you. I was just wondering if the scrap yard was open."

Russell let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding in and nodded. "Yeah, we're open." he said, then turned and motioned for her to follow. "Come on, I'll take you my dad."

"OK."

When the gate to the scrap yard opened (luckily Grimlock and Fixit weren't in sight), Russell gave a holler. "Hey, dad, we got a customer!"

His dad, Denny, walked out from behind a pile of washers, a smile on his face, and came towards them.

"Good afternoon," he greeted, holding his hand out. "Denny Clay, how may I help you today?"

The woman smiled at his dad and reached out and shook his hand. "Emily Seeker, it's good to meet you Mr. Clay." She pulled her hand away. "I was wondering if you had any welding equipment?"

His dad's smile widened. "We sure do! Follow me."

The woman, Emily, smiled and nodded, walking past Russell. That's when he noticed something strange on the woman's neck - three things, actually. The first being the silver chain around her neck - a necklace, perhaps? The second being the scar. It was noticeable against her already pale skin, which was strange to him. It started just an inch or so below her right ear, just underneath her jaw, and traveled diagonally down across her throat and collar bone before disappearing underneath her shirt. The third, and final, thing was that something appeared to be attached to the back of her neck. He couldn't see for sure because her hair blocked most of his sight, but it appeared to be a steel-gray circle of some kind.

Jogging after the two grownups, Russell slowed to a walk beside the woman. "I'm Russell." he said.

Emily smiled down at him. "It's nice to meet you, Russell."

Russell smiled back. "So, why do need welding equipment?" _And how'd you get that scar._ He added wordlessly.

Emily let out a small laugh, and rubbed the back of her head. "My niece accidentally broke some of my old equipment."

Russell looked at her curiously. "How?"

"She ran it over."

Russell opened his mouth to ask how her niece could accidentally run over her welding equipment, but his dad's voice broke in.

"Here we are!" he called.

Emily gave him another small and walked over to his dad to look at the equipment. Russell watched her go then headed deeper into the scrap yard to find Grimlock and Fixit. He found the two of them conversing in front of the computer console of the _Alchemor_. Grimlock was the first one to notice him. The green and black Dinobot stopped talking, smiled and waved as he came closer.

"Hey, Russell!"

Russell smiled up at the large bot. "Hey, Grimlock." Then looked down at Fixit. "Hey, Fixit."

"Mellow!-Pillow!-Hello, Russell!" replied Fixit, hitting his chest repeatedly.

By this time, Russell was used to the small Autobot's speech problem, but still found it funny (But he never laughed because he didn't want to upset the little orange bot).

"So, Russell, what's that human looking for?"

Russell looked up at Grimlock, and said, "Just some welding equipment because her niece broke some of hers."

Suddenly, they heard the gate closing and his dad was coming towards them a few moments later, head slightly down with a curious look etched on his face and he was rubbing his chin. Russell was immediately worried.

"You OK, dad?"

His dad must have been deep in thought, because his head jerked up and looked around before his gaze settled on Russell.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah, yeah, everything's fine, Rusty! It's just...that woman - Emily. There's something _strange_ about her."

Russell cocked his head and raised a brow at his dad. "How?"

His dad shrugged his shoulders, hand still on his chin. "I don't know. I just got a funny feeling about her, that's all. Especially about what she said to me before she left."

"What'd she say?"

"'Like your friends, Mr. Clay, I'm not what I seem to be.'"

Now that got there attention.

Fixit was the next to speak. "Why'd she say that, Denny Clay?"

His dad looked at the minicon. "I asked her about the scar she had on her neck, and that's what she said to me."

Suddenly, Russell felt a chill run down his spine. Like he was being watched. Looking around, he saw nothing, so he just shrugged it off. If he had looked up at the 'broken' camera above the console, he would've seen that he was very, very wrong.


	3. Chapter 3

**Old Friends, New Problems**

 **Chapter 3**

#Back at the scrap yard#%Bumblebee's POV%

* * *

As Bumblebee rolled into the scrap yard, he _knew_ something was wrong.

Transforming into his root mode, Bumblebee walked through the scrap yard, with Sideswipe and Strongarm following close behind, looking for the rest of his team. He found them talking in front of the _Alchemor_ , and was immediately unsettled by the frown on Denny's face.

"Something wrong, guys?"

Denny looked at him and shrugged. "We aren't sure."

Bumblebee quirked a brow. "What do you mean?"

Denny scratched the back of his head. "Well this woman came in earlier while you guys were on patrol - bought some of welding equipment - and when she was leaving a noticed that she had this scar, so I asked her about it."

Bumblebee bit his lip.

"What did the scar look like?"

He watched as Denny pointed to the corner of his jaw and go down, stopping just above his collar bone then going diagonal across his chest.

"The rest I couldn't see." he said, but Bumblebee didn't hear him.

 _It can't be! There's NO way it could be_ her _! Not after all these years._ He thought frantically.

Strongarm must've noticed his distress. "Lieutenant? Are you alright?"

Shaking himself from his thoughts, Bumblebee gave her a firm nod, then looked back down at Denny, and said, "What did she say to you when you questioned her about the scar?"

"The only thing she said was , 'Like your friends, Mr. Clay, I'm not what I seem to be.'"

Bumblebee gulped and bit his lip and narrowed his optics. This was starting to sound more and more like _her._ He just needed to know a few more things.

"What did she look like?" he asked, carefully.

"I believe I can help you there!"

Everybody turned to look at Fixit, and watched as the minicon rolled up to the computer and pulled today's security footage. Bumblebee watched the screen fast forward, zoom in and out until it rested on the strange woman.

Bumblebee felt his energon run cold, and his breathing hitched and stalled slightly.

There was no denying it now.

Even though he couldn't see her optics, he could clearly see the scar. The scar that had been inflicted upon her by one of her victims.

It was _her._

It was..."Rem."

* * *

Sorry that this chapter is shorter than the rest. I was in a hurry. Next chapter will be longer, promise. :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Old Friends, New Problems**

 **Chapter 4**

#Back at the scrap yard#%Bumblebee's POV%

* * *

Bumblebee mentally slapped himself for saying _her_ name out loud because no sooner had he said it, Grimlock went into a panic.

"REM?! THAT'S **REM**?!" screamed the Dinobot, ducking behind the nearest pile of scrap (which happened to be a giant pile of washers and dryers), putting his servos on top of his head. "HIDE ME! HIDE ME!"

Bumblebee groaned and slapped a servo over his face in annoyance. Yep! He should've **really** been more careful with his words. Now he has a distraught Dinobot, two curious rookies (which was strange given Rem's history) and humans and a frozen Fixit. Made sense that he would know who he was talking about - he was the warden of a prison ship.

Russell turned and looked up at him. "Who's Rem?"

It was an innocent question, but still, Bumblebee couldn't help but sigh. "She is - or _was_ a Decepticon assassin during the war. One of the best. She and her partner made exactly four hundred and seventy-three kills - eighty happen to be Decepticons who, in one way or another, betrayed the Decepticon Cause."

Russell's eyes widened in shock, as did Denny's, and turned to look at the picture frozen on the screen.

"But how is that possible, Lieutenant?!" asked Strongarm. "I studied _every_ aspect of the war during my Academy days, and there were _no_ records about a human with the Decepticons."

Bumblebee shuttered his optics, sighed and looked away. Boy, this was going to be a shock (for Strongarm, at least).

"That's because...there are no records, and never will be."

This time, Sideswipe was the one to be surprised.

"What do you mean, Bee? If this human's as dangerous as you say, then there should be at least _some_ records."

Bumblebee shook his head and faced the teens. "I'm not going to lie to you guys, there were records, but they were **deleted**. And for a reason." He then turned and motioned for the still-cowering Dinobot. "Grimlock, can you _please_ come out from behind there? She's not going to come and off-line you."

The green and black T-Rex poked his head up and over the pile of junk, and looked around fearfully before ducking back down again.

"No way, Bee!" he shouted.

"How **do** you know, Bee?" asked Sideswipe. Before Bumblebee could answer, though, Sideswipe's optics widened.

"Wait!" he shouted. "Just how do even you know all this?!"

Everybody, including Grimlock, turned to look at him.

 _Scrap!_

Bumblebee reached up and scratched the back of his head. "She...told me."

"WHAT!?"

Slumping forward, Bumblebee slapped a servo on his face, again, and sighed. "This is going to take forever to explain..."

\- #%-

Just as Bumblebee thought, it did take forever to explain, and it was just starting to get dark when he finished. Denny and Russell had left to go get some sleep, but the others still had questions.

"Let me get this straight, Bee," began Grimlock, still looking a little shaken. "Rem isn't Cybertronian?"

"Not entirely, no."

Strongarm stepped forward, servo raised. "Um, Lieutenant?"

Bumblebee nodded to the blue and white femme. "Go ahead, Strongarm."

Strongarm crossed her arms across her chassis. "If she's really 80% Cybertronian, then shouldn't she _look_ more Cybertronian?"

Fixit nodded his head in agreement, as did Sideswipe and Grimlock.

Bumblebee frowned slightly. "Ever hear of a 'Con called Shockwave?"

"Shockwave? The Decepticon scientist?"

Bumblebee nodded before saying, "He's the one who created Rem, even used some of his own CNA. Shockwave engineered her to be what she is, and he -!"

 **BOOM!**

An explosion suddenly lit up the area near the scrap yard entrance, sending things flying. The ground trembled slightly, knocking down piles of scrap.

"What the scrap!?" shouted Sideswipe.

They all (except for Fixit) ran for the entrance, thinking it was a Decepticon attack.

Skidding to a halt, they all drew their weapons and readied for battle.

They never expected a missile being shot at them, and attaching itself to Grimlock, shocking the large bot until he collapsed to ground, unconscious. Blaster fire came at them next.

For a moment, Bumblebee couldn't make sense of what was happening. Decepticons didn't have or use stasis missiles...Bee's free servo went to his right side, and the memory of losing his t-cog flared up, making his optics widen in shock and fear. And that's when he saw them through the smoke. Black suits, guns and goggles. And the were readying another missile.

"M.E.C.H..." he whispered.

It wasn't possible! After so long, after so many years, there was no way the organization was still around. Of course, he thought the same thing about Rem...so anything was possible.

The humans aimed the missile, and it was aimed right at Strongarm.

He rushed over and shoved the cadet out of the way, taking the hit.

Bumblebee screamed as the electricity seared through his neural net. The world around him spun, and he thought he heard Russell call out his name. He vision was going dark, just like it had all those years ago when he lost his t-cog. Then, he felt a servo on his cheek - but it was small like a human's. Turning in the direction of the servo, he saw the blurry outline of...someone. Who was it? He didn't know, everything was getting darker. Suddenly, a voice broke it's way through his darkening mind. It was very familiar. Sure, it was a bit different, but it was very familiar. It almost sounded like...

"R-Rem...?"

Then, everything went black.


	5. Chapter 5

**Old Friends, New Problems**

 **Chapter 5**

#Scrap yard, after the attack#%Rem's POV%

* * *

Rem was silent as she worked. After M.E.C.H. had retreated, and the wounded moved into the makeshift med bay, Rem went to work on repairs. She started by removing those Unicron cursed stasis grenades! Then sealed the hole they had made in each 'Bots's chassis. Rem was currently working on Bumblebee - she had finished with Grimlock an hour ago; the yellow and black mech was still unconscious, and would stay that way for several more hours. Rem and the others she had brought with her would be long gone before that. Switching her welder off, Rem slid it into its slot on her tool belt then activated her visor. Several messages popped up on her HUD when she finished her scan: _Damage: Repaired. Status: Stasis locked. Time remaining: Four hours and fifty-six minutes._ Rem nodded and hummed in satisfaction, turning her visor off, she slid off Bumblebee's chassis and jumped to the floor. Her work was done here, time to collect Brimstone and Atti and go home before Atti got into trouble.

 ** _CRASH!_**

Atti's laughing soon accompanied the sound, as did some shouting from Strongarm. Rem groaned and rubbed her temple in annoyance. _Too late,_ she thought walking towards the noise. She pinged Brimstone to let him know that she was on her way; she got an affirmative ping back. When she got there, the sight that stood before her was enough to make her let out a small chuckle. Atti was pinned on her back by Brimstone's left pede, whilst Strongarm and Sideswipe were being held upside down by both of their pedes. Walking over, smirk still on her face, Rem nodded up at Brimstone in welcome, the Dragonformer nodded back, and knelt down beside Atti's head.

"So," she started. "What did you do this time?"

Atti turned her head to look at Rem, red optics narrowed. "Nothing to warrant this!" She hit Brimstone's pede to make her point.

Rem shrugged before standing. "Should've stayed out of trouble like your sire told you to, then Brimstone wouldn't have to do this."

Atti responded with a humph, and turned her head away, grumbling. Rem's smirk turned into a small smile, then all together dissipated.

"Brimstone," she said, looking up at the Predacon (well, half-Predacon). "Put them down, and let Atti up, we're leaving."

The mute mech nodded, and lifted his pede, Atti back peddled a few steps before jumping to her pedes and brushing herself off, then he dropped the two in his servos - both landed face-first in the dirt at his pedes, groaning.

Giving the two Autobots one last look, Rem turned and walked towards the gate.

"Wait!"

Rem stopped and looked over her shoulder, and saw Russell running towards her. Before the child could reach her, however, Brimstone stepped between them. Rem walked forward until she was standing beside Brimstone, reaching up and putting a hand on his ankle.

"What do you want, Russell?" she asked, looking at him.

Russell looked at her, and said, "Why're you leaving?"

"We did what we came to do," she said. "Now, if that's all you wanted, we'll be going."

Turning around, again, Rem pinged Soundwave for a ground bridge, and started walking, only to stop when a thought struck her. Looking back over her shoulder at Russel, Rem said, "And don't worry about M.E.C.H. coming back, we'll know if they'll try anything."

The boy had more to say, she could tell, but before he could, a large ground bridge appeared in front of them. Shooting Strongarm a small glare, Rem ran into the portal with Brimstone and Atti following close behind.

-#$- (Bumblebee's POV)

Bumblebee groaned when he finally came online. He had such a processor ache. Reaching a hand up to his head, he rubbed the back of his head in hopes of alleviating some of the pain. No such luck. Sitting up, Bumblebee looked around and saw that he was alone in the med bay. With last night's events fresh in his mind, Bumblebee slipped off the med berth, and headed out into the scrap yard.

"Lieutenant Bumblebee, it's good to see you plup!-sup!-UP!"

Turning, he saw Fixit wheel out of the old restaurant and over to him.

Bumblebee nodded and smiled down at the minicon. "It's good to be up, Fixit. Where is everybody?"

"Sideswipe and Strongarm are out on patrol, Denny Clay and Russell went into the city just a short time ago, and Grimlock is helping me fix the gate."

"What about, um... you-know-who?"

Fixit's cheerful smile disappeared, and was replaced with a frown.

"Rem and her cohorts left shortly after she finished with your repairs."

Bumblebee looked down at Fixit curiously.

"Rem brought others with her? How many?" he asked.

Fixit scratched his head for a moment, then his optics brightened.

"Two young bots, a purple femme and a brown mech. By the looks of them, I could tell they were around the same age as Cadet Strongarm and Sideswipe."

"Did she ever address them?" he asked next. He had a hunch that the purple femme was Atti, but it was best to make sure. And he wanted to know who the brown mech was.

Fixit nodded, and said, "Yes, she did. Several times I heard her address the purple femme as Atti and the brown mech as Brimstone."

Again, Bumblebee nodded. Yep, he was right. "What did _Brimstone_ look like?"

"Well," began Fixit. "He was very tall for someone his age, abnormally so, he was the same height as Grimlock! He's a dark brown and black with white accents and amber optics. Light silver-gray face, and white detailed wings on his back."

"Was his frame rugged or smooth?" Bumblebee's voice was almost a whisper. The mech Fixit was describing almost sounded like...Predaking. Could the young mech be the Predacon's creation? If so, then it wouldn't be hard to find the young Dragonformer.

"Smooth."

Bumblebee nodded, "Thank you, Fixit. I'm going out for a drive, comm. me if there's trouble."

He didn't give the minicon time to answer, Bumblebee ran to the gate, passing a wide-opticed Grimlock, and transformed, taking of towards the woods. He shifted through his old contacts until he found the one Rem gave him when they had fist met, and dialed it. No sound, but no static, either. Which meant Rem hadn't deleted it, but had, rather, deactivated the audio function. Which left him with the messaging function. Bumblebee quickly sent some coordinates, and prayed that Rem got them, then sped off to the meeting place.

He had questions, and he was going to get them.


	6. Chapter 6

**Old Friends, New Problems**

 **Chapter 6**

#Forest spot#%Bumblebee's POV%

* * *

Bumblebee paced the clearing nervously, only stopping to look around at every turn before resuming his nervous pacing. Rem should've been here hours ago. Unless she never got the coordinates...Bumblebee groaned, maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

Bumblebee nearly jumped out of frame when Rem's voice sounded from the trees to his left.

"I thought we both agreed to stop having these kinds of meetings years ago, Bee."

Spinning around, Bumblebee took aim at the techno-organic out of sheer instinct. Rem just shook her head and chuckled, stepping clear of the tree cover.

"And we both know that that's not going to be enough to stop someone like me."

Letting out a breath, Bumblebee sheathed his blaster. "Rem, you know I hate it when you just pop out of no-where."

Rem just smirked and waved him off, then looked up at the sky. "It's been a long time, Bee," she said, a sad smile on her face.

Bumblebee sighed deeply. "Almost thirty years, my friends."

"And I would be lying if I said I didn't miss your ugly mug."

Bumblebee looked at Rem. Really looked at her. She had grown, but nothing about her really had changed - her personality, especially. The same violet-blue optics stared back at him, the same scar marred her pale skin, the same dark hair covered her head, and the same sad smile showed her pain.

"I've missed you, too," he said at last, blue optics looking down at the ground. "How's Ratchet?"

"Same old, same old - grouchy. Even more so now since he's carrying."

Bumblebee nearly fell over.

"Ratchet's _what?!_ Who's the sire?!"

No way no how could this be true. There was no one in existence that could put up with Ratchet as a bondmate! At least, no one he new.

"Megatron," she said casually. As if it was the most normal thing in the world.

This time, Bumblebee really did fall over. Bumblebee's engines spluttered, and his optics were wide in disbelief. "You've gotta be pulling my leg, Rem," he said, pushing himself back into a sitting position, then added coolly, "There's no way in the Pit that Megs would be into Ratchet like...like _that._ "

Rem smiled, and said, "After spending so much time with one another - hey, anything's possible." The smile suddenly disappeared from her face, replaced with a look of absolute seriousness. "Now," she said, shifting to sit on her knees. "Why did you call me here? Because I know it has to be more than just pleasant conversation and catching up."

"You know me too well. I wanted to ask you a few questions."

Rem tilted her head, interested. "About M.E.C.H?"

Bumblebee nodded, "Yeah, and about the 'Con's my team and I are chasing."

Rem exhaled deeply, "Ask away, my friend." And closed her optics for a moment before opening them back up and moving to lay on her back on the dark grass.


	7. Chapter 7

**Old Friends, New Problems**

 **Chapter 7**

#Forest spot#%Rem's POV%

* * *

The two of them talked for hours. Mostly about M.E.C.H., about the escaped Decepticons, about how life was after Team Prime left and how it changed when Megatron came back (with a few others in tow). She had to assure the former scout that Megatron was far too busy running the base and taking care of Ratchet to worry about taking revenge on him.

"So, who's Brimstone?"

"Predaking and Soundwave's son." Rem chuckled at her friend's shocked expression, and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, surprised me, too, when I found out - surprised everybody, actually." It only seemed like yesterday when Predaking and Soundwave walked into the common room together and announced (after much hesitation) that he and Soundwave were together and were expecting a sparkling. The last part of the announcement made Knock Out spit out his energon in shock whilst it made Ratchet jump to his pedes and order the two of them to the med bay.

"And Atti?"

Rem let out a light laugh. "Love that kid to death, but she sure can be a big pain in the aft - she must get that from Starscream. Her and Brimstone have been thick as thieves since they were sparklings."

Bumblebee gasped, "Starscream's her creator?!"

Rem nodded. "Her sire, yeah."

Bumblebee shook his head. "So, how are Raf and them doing? Fowler still being a pain in the aft?" Bumblebee's voice broke Rem from her musing, and frowned at the mention of Agent Fowler.

"Raf, Miko and Jack are OK, all grown up with families of their own," she began, still frowning. "June retired from the hospital, and Agent Fowler..." Rem looked up at Bumblebee, and sighed, "he-he _died_."

"What?! How?! When?!"

Rem reached up and rubbed the winged Decepti-brand and name-charms beneath her shirt. "Colon cancer twelve years ago - there was nothing they could do."

"Oh..."

 _Snap!_

Rem froze, then scanned the forest behind her. Two very familiar spark signatures popped up on her HUD. Groaning in annoyance, Rem stood up and turned, hands on her hips.

"Brimstone, Atti," she called. "Show yourselves, now."

The two teenagers walked out with their helms bowed down in shame. _Good,_ she thought, walking towards the duo, arms crossed and eyes narrowed. "Care to tell me what exactly the two of you are doing here?" she asked, shooting Atti a pointed look.

Brimstone's voice echoed in her head. _"We were worried, that's all."_

"And we don't trust him," added Atti, glaring up at Bumblebee.

Rem shook her head and sighed, "Kids, I appreciate your concern, but I can take care of myself."

Suddenly, the sound of flight engines and beating wings filled the clearing, Rem saw Atti and Brimstone freeze up in fear. Shaking her head in disappointment, Rem looked up at Bumblebee, and said, "Sorry to cut this meeting short, Bee," She brought up the coordinates for the scrap yard. "But I think it's time for you to scoot. Talk to you later." Before the yellow and black mech could protest, Rem opened the ground bridge right underneath him just as a very angry Starscream and Predaking transformed and landed in the clearing.

* * *

:( So very sorry that this chapter is so very short. Next one will be longer. Promise.


	8. Chapter 8

**Old Friends, New Problems**

 **Chapter 8**

#Laurentian Abyss base#%Rem's POV%

* * *

Rem looked up from her data-pad as Atti and Brimstone trudged by her work station in the med bay, helms bowed in shame. Returning to her reading, Rem hoped that she wouldn't be disturbed the remainder of the night. But, as usual, she spoke too soon, because the doors to the med bay snapped open and let in a very annoyed-looking Ratchet. _Uh oh,_ she thought, shutting down her data-pad and laying it down on her desk.

"Everything OK, Ratchet?" Rem asked, walking over to the railing.

"Fine!" the medic snapped.

Rem cocked her head. "Megatron do something wrong? Or is the sparkling giving you trouble?"

Ratchet turned to Rem, servo on his swollen abdomen, face plates twisted in a look of frustration and annoyance. "Guess what Skylynx and Darksteel decided to do?" he growled, pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head.

"I'm afraid to ask," Rem replied, leaning over the railing a ways.

"Those idiots got Tommy sparked! Irresponsible fraggers!"

Rem leaned back and shifted to where her cheek was resting in her palm, and whistled, amused. "Wow, thought they hated each other," Rem said with a chuckle. " And seeing as he's one of your best apprentices - and that he hangs out with you most of the time - gotta say I'm quite surprised. So, how'd you found out? Tommy tell you?"

Ratchet exhaled deeply, sitting down on one of the med berths, and shook his head. "No," he said, then looked down at his abdomen. "This little pit spawn let me know..."

Rem smiled and nodded her head in understanding. "Sparklings - even unborn ones - can feel when another sparkling's nearby. Bet you chewed the three of them out pretty good."

"Only Darksteel and Skylynx, left Tommy alone - but I told him to come by tomorrow for an examination."

With that said, Ratchet pushed himself off the med berth and walked out of the med bay. Rem turned back to her desk, and slumped back into her chair. Grabbing her data-pad, Rem turned it on and picked up where she left off.

 _"Rem."_

Shockwave's voice sounded loudly in her comm. link, making her jump slightly. She hated it when the mech did that. It was almost like he was trying to give Rem a spark attack.

Rem pressed her fingers to her comm. "Yes, Shockwave?" she asked.

 _"I need you in the lab. I have discovered something rather odd in the synthetic and red energon mixture."_

Rem nodded, and stuffed her still-on data-pad in her knapsack, then tossed it over her shoulder. "OK, I'm on my way." she said. The line cut off, and she pulled up the ground bridge controls on her HUD. Soon, a swirling green-blue portal opened up with a pop and hiss, and she walked on through.

* * *

#Scrap yard#%Bumblebee's POV%

* * *

As Bumblebee laid down for the night, the lieutenant couldn't help but think about what he had said to his team - especially Strongarm - when he miraculously ground bridged on top of Grimlock - the Dinobot went back to his paranoia after that.

They weren't happy that he had went off on his own to meet up with Rem - pointing out that she was a killer and a Decepticon. After they were done reprimanding him, Bumblebee replied with a "She's my friend." and "I'm the only **Autobot** who she **will** talk to." - that got him a couple of curious looks.

"It's a long story," he'd said, rubbing the back of his helm.

He had hoped they wouldn't pry, and would just leave it as that. A long story - one he didn't want to disclose with his team without Rem's permission. But, unfortunately, Strongarm had taken it upon herself to point out that they had the right to know if they were going to trust Rem. At that, Bumblebee looked at Strongarm forlornly, and said, "Trust isn't something she's gonna give you guys, I'm afraid."

Bumblebee turned and left after that, hoping to make it to his makeshift quarters before he was bothered, again.

"Lieutenant."

Stopping, Bumblebee turned and faced the blue and white cadet, and said, "Yes, Strongarm?"

The cadet stopped just a few pedes away from him. "Can I ask you something?"

Bumblebee nodded. "Of course."

Strongarm sucked in a breath before exhaling deeply.

"Before Rem left with her comrades, she shot me a glare - as if I wronged her in some way. Why?"

 _Oh no, not this again,_ he thought, scrubbing his face with a servo. This was a story Bumblebee **definitely** didn't want to share. It would dig up too much of the past (and Rem would reformat him into a waste disposal shoot). Sighing, Bumblebee laid a servo on Strongarm's shoulder, then said, "That is something you should ask her yourself, Cadet. But, to put your mind at ease, the glare wasn't meant for you - just someone your connected to."

* * *

 _Who could Bumblebee be talking about?_

 _Find out in Ch. 9._


	9. Chapter 9

**Old Friends, New Problems**

 **Chapter 9**

#Laurentian Abyss base - Shockwave's Lab#%Rem's POV%

* * *

Rem couldn't believe it.

They had finally done it.

They had _finally_ completed the synthetic energon formula!

"We'll never have to worry about running out of fuel!" she said, looking up at Shockwave. "Especially with the new sparklings on the way." The purple cyclopes just nodded and continued tinkering with the replicator. The machine still had a few kinks to work out before it could be put to work, but it wasn't anything Shockwave couldn't handle. Turning back to her work, Rem peered into her microscope when Shockwave suddenly spoke:

"What is bothering you, Rem?"

Rem froze, then sighed and leaned back in her chair. "That obvious, huh?"

"I am your creator, Rem, it is only logical that I would notice the slightest changes in your demeanor."

Rem closed her optics, then slowly removed the modified sunglasses she always wore and held them in her servos. When she finally spoke, her voice was torn, and sounded tired. "The glitch that killed Radar, I saw his kid today and I..."

"...Was reminded of that night." finished Shockwave, taking a step forward.

Rem just nodded, abandoning her glasses in her lap in order to finger the single dark green charm nearest to her winged insignia.

"It's been well over four hundred years since Radar died, but my spark still aches."

"That is a logical feeling to have when you lose someone you care about." Shockwave said.

Rem released the charm and slipped her glasses back on over her eyes, then stood up. "I'm going out for a bit, comm. me if anything new happens," she said, opening a ground bridge.

* * *

#Somewhere#%Strongarm's POV%

* * *

It was supposed to be a normal patrol. Make a few rounds on the outside of the city, then head back before evening energon. But no, those M.E.C.H. guys had to show up and ruin her whole evening! It started with a high speed chase - with her being the one chased - and ended at the docks with her nearly getting zapped. And she would've if Rem hadn't decided show up.

The techno-organic made quick work of the trucks with a well-placed EMP bomb - it sent the cars rolling sideways into a large stack of wooded crates and dried-docked boats. The residual static from the bomb made Strongarm's nerve net tingle at Rem, Strongarm's spark skipped a beat when she saw that the former Decepticon had pulled out another bomb and was about to attach it to one of the turned over vehicles.

"Stop!" she cried, launching herself forward. She couldn't let Rem kill them. Even though the human's in the cars probably wouldn't hesitate to kill her, they were still human. And she had sworn to protect all humans.

Rem turned and looked at her with an undefinable look. "Why should I?" Rem said, then pressed the bomb to the truck's door, and ran.

Strongarm's optics widened. "No!" she shouted. Running to the truck, Strongarm ripped the bomb off the door, and chucked it out over the ocean. The bomb landed with a slash and sank beneath the ocean; it wasn't a minute or two later before a large geyser of water showed up.

"You shouldn't have done that, Strongarm."

Strongarm narrowed her optics, whipped around and glared over at Rem. "Why are you so determined to kill them!?" she shouted, waving at the trucks. "They're human just like you!"

That must've been the wrong thing to say because the next thing Strongarm knows, she's sent backwards by a blow to the chassis, crashing into the side of a dry-docked boat. Looking down at her chassis, Strongarm was surprise to see a scorch mark marring it in the center.

"And **that's** only a small fraction of what I can do, cadet. Besides, I gave your Primus-forsaken sire worse, so you should consider yourself lucky."

Strongarm's helm shot up at the mention of her sire. Then she narrowed her optics in anger at the insult to the said mech.

"You know nothing about my sire!" she growled.

"I know more than you will ever know about Wheeljack," Rem said flatly.

Rem's face betrayed nothing, but if the visible static pulsing slightly around in her EM field was anything to go by, Strongarm would say that Rem **really** hated her sire. But why? What had he done to get such hate from Rem?

"Have you ever lost someone important to you, cadet? Anyone you _loved_?"

She looked at Rem, visibly startled at how much pain she could hear in the other's voice. Regaining her posture, Strongarm shook her helm, and said, "No, I haven't."

Rem didn't reply, just took something out from underneath her garments - the blue and white cadet quickly realized it was a necklace of some sort. Strongarm guessed it was from Rem's time as a Decepticon when she saw the winged Decepti-brand, but she couldn't understand what the little pieces of metal around it were all about. They had to be something important for Rem to be holding the way she was.

Suddenly, a rapid set of pings went off. Strongarm quickly identified them as comm. pings, and watched as Rem pressed her digits against the side of her visor.

"Yes, Shockwave?"

* * *

#Docks#%Rem's POV%

* * *

"Yes, Shockwave?"

 _"Ratchet has requested that you return to base."_

Rem quirked a brow, and turned her back on Strongarm. "Why didn't he comm. me himself, or have Megatron do it?" she asked, pacing a head a few steps before stopping.

 _"Ratchet has gone into labor, and Megatr-"_

"HE WHAT?!" she shouted, cutting the scientist off. "WHEN?!"

 _"Just a short while ago,"_ Shockwave replied.

"Bridge me back!"

 _"Affirmative. Ground bridge opening."_

There was a click, and the line went dead. Rem waited for the ground bridge - expecting it to appear right in front of her. What she wasn't expecting was for it to open behind her. Next thing Rem knew, a cry of surprise was being cut off, and something passed through the ground bridge. Rem whirled around, and darted through. Looking around, Rem finally found what she was looking for at the entrance to the Bridge Deck, and chuckled.

Strongarm was being held upside down by Predaking, with a look of complete terror on her face plates as she stared up at the Predacon.

"Predaking, put her down, she isn't a threat," then added. "Besides, it looks like Bloomburst is about to cry from all the growling you're doing."

That certainly got him to release Strongarm. The large, winged mech immediately dropped the rookie cop in favor of comforting his whimpering daughter. Strongarm landed face-first, but recovered quickly. She back away from the Predacon, blue optics as wide as Cybertron's biggest moon. It was rather amusing.

Shaking her head, Rem clasped her servos behind her back, and strode forward.

"Welcome, to the _Nemesis II._ "

* * *

 _ **Sorry for not updating in a while. Been busy with school and work. I'll try to update as often as I can.**_


	10. Chapter 10

**Old Friends, New Problems**

 **Chapter 10**

#Scrap yard#%Bumblebee's POV%

* * *

"Hey, has anyone heard from Strongarm?"

Everybody in the scrap yard turned their heads to look at Bumblebee as he walked through the gate.

"We thought she was you, Bee." said Grimlock, frowning.

Bumblebee frowned and shook his head. Then, "No. I thought she was here." He turned to Fixit, and said, "Fixit, can you get a lock on Strongarm's signal?"

Fixit nodded, and began typing rapidly. A minute later, the screen blared and flashed red.

Bumblebee looked at Fixit, "What's wrong?"

The orange minicon rubbed the top of his head, "I-I do not know," he said, and began typing again. The screen blared and red again. Fixit hummed and tapped his chin in thought. "I'm sure I keyed in the correct sequence - it shouldn't be coming up as negative. It's like she just...disappeared."

Bumblebee's optics narrowed. "I don't like this. Bots don't just disappear. Especially ones like Strongarm. When was the last time she checked in?"

Fixit pressed a button to his left, and a data log popped up on the screen.

"Cadet Strongarm checked in four hours ago. But after that, there's nothing."

Suddenly, Bumblebee's comm. began pinging. He quickly checked the I.D., he sighed in relief when Strongarm's name popped up, and answered.

"Strongarm, where are you?! Are you alright?!"

 _"I'm a little shaken up, but alright. I am currently with Rem and her comrades on their ship."_ There was a pause. _"Lieutenant, were you aware that_ Megatron _was still online?"_

Bumblebee sighed again, his cadet was safe...Wait a minute! She was with Rem, that only meant trouble.

"Strongarm, just how did you end up on that ship? And why didn't you check in?!"

There was some nervous laughter. _"About that,_ _Lieutenant,"_ she said. _"The reason why I didn't check in is because I'm sort of at the bottom of the ocean right now - well, below it."_

"WHAT?!"

* * *

#Laurentian Abyss - _Nemesis II_ \- Guest Quarters#%Strongarm's POV%

* * *

 _"WHAT?!"_

Strongarm cringed at her superior's raised voice. Maybe Rem was right - she should've just waited to be bridged home to explain everything to her team.

"Lieutenant, I know it sounds ridiculous, but they've have built their base in what the humans call 'The Laurentian Abyss'. And it's impossible to get a signal down here unless you know how to tune your frequencies just right." She waited for another violent outburst at the mention of being well below the planet's sea level. Instead, not much to her surprise, the black-and-yellow mech just sighed.

 _"When will you be able to come back?"_

"In an hour or so - maybe more."

Another sigh.

 _"OK. And be careful, Strongarm. Contact me as soon as you're bridged out of there."_

Strongarm nodded. "Of course, Lieutenant."

She was about to shut off her comm. when a thought suddenly struck her.

"Lieutenant, before we break contact, I have a question."

 _"Shoot,"_ he said.

Strongarm took a deep breath. "I now know that Rem doesn't necessarily like me because of my sire."

 _"Yes?"_

"But what did my sire do to get such hate? He's a good bot!"

A pause.

 _"He killed the mech she loved."_

With a _click!_ , the line went dead, and Strongarm was left feeling sick to her tanks.

* * *

#Laurentian Abyss - _Nemesis II_ \- med bay#%Rem's POV%

* * *

Rem looked down at the sparkling sleeping in Ratchet's arms from Knock Out's shoulder, and smiled.

The sparkling was a white-and-violet femmeling with a gun metal-gray face and cyan-blue optics. Her helm resembled Ratchet's, dark purple chevron and all. In fact, Silvercoat was practically a mini femme version of Ratchet. Rem just hoped that the little one didn't develop the bad habit of throwing things at the people who annoyed her like Ratchet did. Speaking of throwing things, Rem looked up where Megatron knelt down beside Ratchet, and chuckled when she saw the slight dent between his optics where Ratchet had thrown his wrench.

Suddenly, a silver-and-black Eradicon dashed into the med bay, looking frantic.

"Megatron! We have trouble!"

* * *

 _ **Sorry for the late update! Been busy studying!**_

 _ **I'll be sure to update more often. Enjoy!**_


	11. Chapter 11

**Old Friends, New Problems**

 **Chapter 11**

#Laurentian Abyss - _Nemesis II_ med bay#%Bumblebee's POV%

* * *

Bumblebee wasn't sure what hit him, but whatever it was, it must have been bigger than Grimlock to make his helm hurt this much. It felt like he had been hit the Forge of Solus Prime six times over. Groaning, Bumblebee onlined his optics and tried to sit up, only to find out that he couldn't. Sitting up as far as he could, Bumblebee looked down at his servos, which were barely visible at this angle, and gasped when he saw that he was bound by energon cuffs, like the ones they used in hospitals. Somewhere, he heard a door open, and pede steps coming towards him.

"Good to see that you're finally awake."

Bumblebee relaxed, and looked into the darkness where the voice had originated from. "Knock Out?" he asked.

The red medic stepped out of the shadows, smiling. "In the metal! Miss me?"

Bumblebee chuckled and leaned back on the med berth. Suddenly, a thought struck him. If he was here, then where were the others? All he remembered before blacking out was running into a group of Vehicons while on patrol, Sideswipe's and Grimlock's requests to engage, and then that strange metal disk flying in from nowhere. Bumblebee looked at Knock Out, and said, "Where's my team?!"

"They're safe. The Dinobot woke up not too long ago, had to get that cadet to calm him down before he wrecked the med bay, but the other one still has yet to rise and shine." The ex-'Con walked over to the console by 'Bee's berth, and typed in a command. The cuffs on Bumblebee's wrists snapped open, Bumblebee sat up and rubbed his wrists.

"What happened?"

Knock Out folded his arms over his chest and cocked his helm to the side. "M.E.C.H. happened. Hit your team and ours with what we could identify as a modified EMP bomb. Knocked everyone clean out. You're all lucky that we got Jumpercable's distress message."

Bumblebee looked at him curiously. "Jumpercable?" he asked, sliding off the edge of the berth.

Knock Out just waved him off. "One of the Vehicons you ran into." Then turned, and motioned for Bumblebee to follow.

The two of them walked out of the room, and entered what Bumblebee could guess what the med bay. Which meant that the room he was in previously was one of the ones they used when the med bay was full. Bumblebee looked around the med bay, two Vehicons lay unconscious on med berths on the far side of the room, with Sideswipe no too far away from them.

"How long before Sideswipe wakes up?" he asks.

Knock Out hummed then shrugged. "No idea. EMP blasts effect everybot differently." A wicked smile suddenly spreads over the red mech's alabaster faceplates. "Of course, though, if you want have him wake up now, I give him a few good jolts."

Bumblebee's optics widened, but before he can say anything, a familiar voice interjects.

"Knock Out! You are doing no such thing to MY patient!"

Bumblebee blinks and whips around, smiling when he sees familiar red and white paint.

"Ratchet!" Bumblebee walks over to the medic, smile widening. Ratchet returns the smile and pats him on the shoulder.

"Good to see you, 'Bee." he says. "How do you feel? That bomb did a pretty good number on you and your team."

"I feel fine, Ratchet." he assured. Suddenly, the med bay door flies open, letting a two large blue-gray fly in, fire on their heels. The med bay shuddered when the two slammed to a wall. At first, the unidentifiable blob looked like a pile of body parts, then it moved and the parts went to their respective owners, forming two familiar Predacons.

"Darksteel! Skylynx!" shouted Ratchet, stomping over to the two mechs, wrench raised. "What did you do to make Predaking mad this time?!"

The two of them looked up at Ratchet, then at the med bay doors, as if expecting their leader to come storming in and offline them. "All we did was take Bloomburst out for a flight outside! We didn't drop her or anything this time!"

Ratchet narrowed his optics, turning the wrench around in his servos. "Did you tell either him or Soundwave what you were doing with their daughter?" The two of them looked at each other then at Ratchet, and shook their helms. Ratchet groaned. Next thing anybody in the med bay knew, there was a _Clang!_ And Darksteel and Skylynx were on their backs with sizable dents on the sides of their helms. Bumblebee blinked, surprised. _Ratchet's sure has gotten scarier._

"Is Ratchet always like this when they do something stupid?" he asks, looking at Knock Out. The former 'Con nods.

"Yes," he says, walking away from Bumblebee. "Now if you excuse me, I have work to do."

* * *

#Laurentian Abyss - _Nemesis II_ Science Lab#%Rem's POV%

* * *

Rem was just finishing her report on her recent project when it happened - a scream splits through the base, and the red Autobot - Sideswipe, if she recalled correctly - came running into her lab, looking as if he's seen a ghost. Then he goes and screams, again, when he sees Shockwave and her. Having enough of the screaming, Rem takes out her gun, setting it on stun, and shoots him.

"Finally!" says Shockwave, turning back to his console, and tapping in a command. A minute or two later, Stan and Brix comes in and takes Sideswipe out of the room.

"Young bots. No respect." he grumbles.

Rem nods in agreement with her creator. "No argument there. No argument at all..."


	12. Chapter 12

**Old Friends, New Problems**

 **Chapter 12**

#Laurentian Abyss - _Nemesis II_ Rec. Room#%Strongarm's POV%

* * *

Strongarm finally gets some answers.

* * *

Strongarm was unsure of whether to get a cube or leave. She had been sitting in the Rec. Room for over thirty minutes now, thinking, and was wishing that she had someone to talk to, because maybe (hopefully, actually) that that would help her organize her thoughts. She couldn't stop thinking about what the lieutenant had said to her the other day.

 _"He killed the mech she loved."_

Strongarm just sat in silence after that. Those words rattled around in her processor, and shook her spark to its core. She couldn't believe it... but, at the same time, she could. Her sire HAD been in the Wreckers during the war, and bots did die in war. It would certainly explain why Rem had shown such hostility towards her every time they encountered one another.

"Something on your mind, kid?" came a voice.

Strongarm looked up at Ratchet and nodded. The doctor was sparkling free, so she assumed that either Silvercoat was with a caretaker or with her sire. A small shudder passed through Strongarm. Ratchet sat down across from her, setting a cube of energon down in front of her. Strongarm mumbled a 'Thank you." and took a small sip from her cube. "How are you this morning, doctor?"

Ratchet took a deep swig from his cube. "Tired. But other than that? Fine. How about you?"

"Fine," she answered, then took another drink from her cube.

"I saw you fidgeting over here," Ratchet said, suddenly. "Wheeljack did the same thing whenever he was thinking about something that troubled him. So, tell me, what's troubling you?"

Strongarm sighed, and looked down at her cube. "Did my sire really kill the mech Rem loved?" She looked at Ratchet, looking for something that told her that what she had been told was a lie, but the doctor's blue optics revealed nothing, neither did his expression. Sadness curled in Strongarm's tank.

"Did Rem tell you? Or did Bumblebee?" he asked.

"The lieutenant."

The doctor looked down at his cube, optics dark - Strongarm gulped, knowing that she wasn't going to like what she was about to hear from her sire's friend.

"Yes, Wheeljack did kill Rem's beloved."

Strongarm's servos gripped her cube tighter, frowning and looked down at the table. "Why?"

Ratchet sighed, again, and leaned back in his chair. "He was on a mission with the Wreckers - Rem and her beloved and mission partner, Radar, were on patrol in Kaon. Wheeljack and the Wreckers had Intel that told them of Decepticon patrol patterns. They set a trap for the next patrol. Rem and her partner never saw it coming." Strongarm's servos gripped her cube tighter. She felt the cube beginning to crack, but she didn't care, she listened as Ratchet continued. "After the bomb went off, Radar shielded Rem as much as he could, taking most of the damage in the process. Rem still got damaged though, suffering wounds far greater than Radar because of her smaller chassis."

There was a small pause. Strongarm looks up to see that the red and white mech's darkened optics had clouded over slightly, as if recalling a memory from deep within his processor.

Then, he smiled. "They hated each other so much when they first met. Then after a few decades, they grew close enough to love one another. Radar gave up his life to save Rem's - gave up whatever was left of his spark energy to give her a greater chance at survival."

Strongarm waited for the doctor to finish, but he just shook his head and finished what was left of his cube.

"Sorry, kid, but that's all I'm going to say. If you want to know more you can either go to Rem herself or Shockwave."

Strongarm nods and watches as Ratchet gets up and leaves the Rec. Room, disposing of his empty cube. Strongarm sighs and quickly finishes her cube before leaving as well. She heads back to the Med. Bay, avoiding optic contact with every bot she saw on her way. Not out of spite or embarrassment, mind you, but out of instinct. Strongarm still remembered the stories her carrier told her as a sparkling, and that slight fear stuck with her throughout her life, but only becoming more prominent when coming to Earth and having to deal with Decepticons personally.

When she entered the Med. Bay, Strongarm stopped dead just inside the doorway, and had to keep herself from dropping to the ground laughing until she deactivated, because recharging on one of the med berths was Sideswipe. Atti and her friend Brimstone, and a few others around their age, were painting one half of Sideswipe's face plates to look like that of a human clown and the other to look like a human mime. It was quite hilarious. Walking over, Strongarm saved a picture to her hard drive, then asked if she could help.

* * *

 ** _One hour later..._**

* * *

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! STRONGARM!"

On the Command Bridge, Rem sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Kids these days..."

* * *

 _ **Hello! Hope you all like the new chapter!**_

 _ **I will try to make the next one a bit longer than this one.**_

 _ **Please review. :)**_


	13. Chapter 13

**Old Friends, New Problems**

 **Chapter 13**

#Scrap yard#%Rem's POV%

* * *

 _ **Rem shares her story with Russel**_

* * *

Rem looked out across the river, and at the bustling city on the other side. The lights. The noise. It all reminded her of newly-restored Kaon. She frowned when her spark suddenly clenched painfully in her chest at the thought of her former home. She would never see it again. When the Council found out about her, and her involvement in the deaths of hundreds of their fellow Autobots, they had banished her from Cybertron and was forced to live on the one planet she hated the most: Earth. Rem fell into a period of depression shortly after that. It was only with the help of Ratchet, Shockwave, and a handful of her other friends, that Rem was able to get back to her old self.

"Hey, Rem!" shouted Russel.

Looking down from her perch on top of the crane, Rem shouted back. "What do you want, Russel?"

"Just wanted to ask if you would walk with me down to the football field." he explained, smiling.

Rem smiled back and jumped down, landing in a crouch in front of the young human, which, in turn, made him jump back slightly in fright. Putting her hands on her hips, she says, "Sure, I have nothing better do. Besides, this grants me the perfect chance to explore the area before 'Bee and the others get back."

"Cool!" he says, and leads the way out of the scrap yard.

Half-way to the field, Rem can no longer ignore the growing curiosity in Russel. The boy's been fidgeting and looking like he's thinking about something real hard. She stops suddenly, and faces Russel, arms crossed.

"OK, Russel, spill it. What's eating you?"

Russel looks shocked for a moment, then adverts his eyes and starts scratching the back of his head, as if he's embarrassed about something. Rem raises a brow at this. "Well?" she asks. "We don't have all day."

"I was just wondering why you hate Strongarm so much. Actually, everybody's wondering."

Rem stiffened, and her breathing hitched for a moment before sighing and looking away, frowning sadly. "I don't _hate_ her, Russel," she says. "I just hate who she reminds me of, that's all."

"Who?" asks Russel.

Rem sighed deeply. "Her sire Wheeljack."

Russel cocked his head in wonder. Then, said, "What's a sire?"

"It's the Cybertronian term for father or dad." she explained, simply.

Russel nods. "OK. Then, why do you hate Strongarm's dad?" he asks. "Was he the one who gave you that scar? Or did he hurt someone you know?"

Rem's hand reaches up, and touches the part of her chest where the scar cuts across her chest. "It was a long time ago, Russel, but yes, he did give me this scar." She then drops her hand, and turns her back to him, and said, "But that's not why I hate him so much. I hate him because he _killed_ my partner!"

* * *

 _"We were out on patrol with two others - Blazor and Barricade - when it happened..._ _Blazor and Barricade went on ahead, to see if it was clear while my partner, Radar, and I, stopped to check in with Command. When that was done, I commed Barricade to see if everything was clear..._

 _"'All clear,' he said. I didn't hear it back then, Russel, but looking back now, I realize now that there was a slight edge in Barricade's voice. Almost as if, he was worried about something._

 _We were half way to them when, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, a flashing-green object flies over our heads and lands right in front of us - I knew right away that it was a bomb. Just before the bomb goes off, before I can do anything, I'm sent flying a good ways away from the bomb. Then, Radar goes flying backwards and lands besides me. The bomb goes off not a second later._

 _Radar takes most of the damage, but some of the shrapnel and fire gets lucky, and manages to snag me. Due to my smaller size, my injuries are more severe and my chances of survival are slim to none. Time seems to slow, and my vision starts to turn black, as minutes pass us by. I can hear Radar shouting my name, asking me if I'm alright, but I don't have the strength to answer him, to tell him that I lo-loved him! I felt so helpless and angry. Helpless because I couldn't do anything for Radar. And angry because it was me who said that it was OK for Barricade and Blazor to go on ahead._

 _Just before my vision completely went black, I can see Radar's face above me. I can see the tears falling from his eyes, and it made my spark hurt to see him so sad. I wanted to reach up and wipe the tears away, but I could no longer feel my arms, and I wanted to tell him that everything was going to be alright, that Shockwave and Knock Out would be here soon. But I could no longer use my voice, all that came out of my mouth was my own energon. All I could do was look at him, and hope that he understood._ _Then, there was a bright blue light (which I would later find out to be the light from his spark). The next thing I know, my whole body fells like it's on fire, and my vision blacks out completely._

 _When I wake up, I'm back in Shockwave's lab in what looked like a Regen. Tank. A tank meant to help Cybertronians recover from near-terminal injuries or post surgical operations. About five minutes later, Knock Out walks in and takes me out after seeing that I was awake. He then told me that Radar was dead, that Barricade and Blazor were actually Autobot spies, and that they were working in accordance with an Autobot Wrecker by the name of Wheeljack to help take Radar and I out."_

* * *

Rem closes her eyes and grasps the charms around her neck tightly, and said, "From that day forth, Russel, I swore that I would hunt down and make Wheeljack, Blazor, and Barricade suffer. But, before I could get the chance, I was put into stasis by Radar's mentor, a shared friend, named Deadlock, and jettisoned into space."

A silence fell over the two for a few moments before Russel broke it with a shocked 'Whoa!'.

All Rem could do was nod in agreement. "Yeah," she said. "Whoa."

* * *

 _ **Sorry that it takes me so long to update!**_

 _ **Please review, and Happy Holidays!**_

 _ **:)**_


	14. Chapter 14

**Old Friends, New Problems**

 **Chapter 14**

#Scrap yard#%Rem's POV%

* * *

The following day, Rem spent most of her time fine tuning the _Alchemor_ 's systems and helping Fixit make more stasis pods. Truth be told, she hated that part, it felt like she was betraying her fellow Decepticons. Despite what Megatron says about the Decepticons being no more, that they were all just Cybertronians now, Rem still felt though's ties.

Sometimes, when the others were on patrol or when the were too busy with their own things, Rem would sneak over to the pods and see if she could find anyone she recognized. Sadly, though, she never did. After she was done helping Fixit, Rem decided to go for a walk to the quarry to clear her head. When she got there, Rem spent a good six hours making holes in the walls, and turning the large boulders into pebbles and dust. By the time Rem was finished, the quarry was probably a fraction of a size bigger than it was when she had arrived. All in all, it was very therapeutic, and Rem was feeling a lot better.

But all that changed when she got back to the scrap yard. Instead, her frustration and anger came back ten fold. It took all of her self-control just to NOT fry the bot that stood there. Rem clenched her fists at her sides, narrowing her optics into dangerous slits.

"WHAT in Primus' name is that Unicron forsaken fragging glitch head doing here!?" she hissed, venom dripping from each word.

The object of her rage visibly gulped and shot Bumblebee a nervous, pleading look. The yellow and black Autobot looked at Rem then the nervous white mech beside him, obviously trying to figure out what to say. Oh what she wouldn't give just to let out a sharp charge, but that would break the promise she made to Bumblebee. So, instead, she closed her eyes, rubbed her temples, and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself. _Breath, Rem._ She thought to herself, taking another breather. _Just breath. No need to lose control... **yet**._

Rem turned sharply on her heel, ignoring Bumblebee's pleas for her to come back, that he could explain.

 _'There's nothing to explain, 'Bee,'_ she sent over the comm. _'When he leaves, tell me. But if I see if in these woods, I_ **WILL** _smolder him.'_ She deactivated her comm after that.

Retracing her steps, Rem soon found herself back at the quarry. Folding her legs underneath her, Rem removed her necklace and held it in her lap, thumbs ghosting over the names nearest to them. Friends and enemies alike where on it, along with her insignia from the war. The necklace itself was a gift, given to her by Soundwave after her tenth mission. Back then, only the Decepticon high command knew she existed. Looking down at it once more, dark optics skimming over each visible one. When they landed on a shaded green and silver-black charm, a choked sob rose up and escaped her throat. More followed in suit, and soon enough, Rem was hunched over, shaking and crying.

She was being weak, and she knew it, too. She should've been able to let all this hate and pain go _centuries_ ago. Should've just grieved and moved on. But she didn't. She couldn't. Rem didn't want to just accept what happened and move on, it just wasn't in her. Shockwave had told her that the pain would lessen with time, but it hadn't, and that's what had kept her going. She blamed it on her organic side. Humans were notorious for holding grudges and letting their emotions and bad memories fester. Where as a majority Cybertronians, Autobots and Decepticons, would've been able to cope and move on.

Eventually, she managed to choke her sobs down and banish her tears. Replacing her necklace, Rem stood and jumped down to the quarry floor. Might as well vent her frustration out in the safest way possible.

* * *

#Scrap yard#%Bumblebee's POV%

* * *

"Rem! Come on, Rem, pick up!"

All he got was static.

Sighing, Bumblebee gave up in trying to reach his friend, then turned to the source, optics narrowed slightly.

"Wheeljack," he began, folding his arms over his chest. "Just what _are_ you doing here?"

The former Wrecker had shown up quite unexpectedly, rolling right into the scrap yard just minutes before Rem showed up. At first, Bumblebee thought that his friend was going to disassemble Wheeljack, and if the snaking string of energy were to go by, she probably would've if their hadn't been anyone else but the two of them. Bumblebee sighed inwardly, he had thought that the hate in her spark had at least simmered down some. Apparently he had been wrong.

Wheeljack shrugged, folding his arms across his chassis. "I came to see how my daughter's been holding up. Why? That a crime now, 'Bee?"

Bumblebee shook his head, and said, "No, Wheeljack, I just think that you should've called first."

"Why? Because _she's_ here?"

" **Because** the next time you show up here unannounced, and the rest of us aren't here, Rem could - No! Will! She will kill you, Wheeljack!" snapped Bumblebee, glaring at the older mech. "You were just lucky that we got back before Rem did, or she would've done just that."

Wheeljack snorted disbelievingly. "I can take whatever that freak can dish out and more, you know that, 'Bee."

Bumblebee sighed, "'Jack, that was _interrogation_ , she wasn't trying to kill you." 'Bee pinched the bridge of his nose, and shook his head. "Look, lets turn in for the night. We'll deal with the rest of this in the morning. Wheeljack, you can bunk with Grimlock, there should be enough room for the both of you."

-%$&-

That night, when he was sure that everybody was recharging, Bumblebee went into the woods.

It took him awhile, but he found the quarry, and looked down. He whistled at what he saw. Boulders were now pebbles or charred black, holes and craters ranging in size from two to six Grimlocks were everywhere, and there were even a few collapsed and half-burnt trees here and there. To sum it up. It was a complete and total MESS! Nothing Bumblebee didn't expect from an angry Rem. After he made his way down, finding her was easy. She was propped up against the far wall of the quarry between two charred boulders, knees pulled to her chest and in recharge. Moving one of the boulders out of the way, Bumblebee removed a human-sized blanket from his subspace, and wrapped it around her shoulders.

As he lifted her off the ground, one of her servos fell out of her lap, giving 'Bee a good idea just how long she was at this. Moving the blanket just enough to get a look at her other servo, Bumblebee frowned when he saw that it was just like the other. Both servos, which were usually covered by black gloves, were bruised and bleeding slightly.

 _She must've been destroying this place nonstop for hours for her servos to this beaten up._ He thought solemnly, still looking at her hands. It heart Bumblebee's spark to think that his friend would do this to herself. But it hurt him even more knowing that there was little to nothing that he could do to help her except listen and be there.

Bumblebee held Rem close, and whispered, "What can I do for you, Rem? What do you want?"

It was more to himself than to Rem, and he knew that she couldn't hear him. Turning around, he began looking for a way out of the decimated quarry, but froze when a quiet voice reached his audio receptors.

"Home..."

Bumblebee looked down at Rem. Her optics were still closed, but they were scrunched up, and her fists pulled the blanket closer to her person.

"I just want to go home..." she repeated.

Cybertron. It made sense that Rem would want to go back. She lost Radar, then she lost the planet she had been fighting for. She had been banished from it when the Council had been reestablished. Ultra Magnus had been the one to propose it and decree it. By the time Bumblebee had heard, Rem had already left Cybertron. If he had know that she had returned to Earth, he would've gone to the Council and try to change their minds, then he would've gone after her and brought her home. It was about time he did just that.

"OK, Rem. OK." he answered, holding her a bit closer. "I'll take you home."

* * *

 ** _This is the end of this story. Sorry that I couldn't make it any better. Between college and family matters, my brain is just scrambled._**

 ** _Anyways, hope everybody enjoyed it._**

 ** _Please review!_**

 ** _:)_**

 ** _First chapter of the prequel is up._**


	15. Chapter 15

**Old Friends, New Problems**

 **Chapter 15**

#Scrap yard#%Bumblebee's POV%

* * *

To say that Bumblebee was mad would be an understatement. Livid was a much better word to describe how he felt right now. With some help from the ex-Decepticons, he had been able to reach Cybertron and Ultra Magnus. Growling, Bumblebee sped up as he rounded a curve - he always sped up when he was angry.

 _If I ever see that slag-sucking Pithead again I'm going to tear off his other servo!_

'Bee's processor flashed back to the conversation he had with Ultra Magnus just an hour ago.

 _"But Rem has every right to return, Magnus! It's her home just as much as it is ours."_

 _Ultra Magnus just shook his helm, and said, "The Council has reviewed the evidence, Bumblebee, and they have decreed that Rem is a war criminal and must be brought to justice for her actions. They have already sent a bot to retrieve her - and any other former Decepticons who are currently hiding on Earth."_

 _Bumblebee glared at his former teammate. "This is a loud of scrap, Magnus, and you know it, too! Some Autobots did things just as bad - or worse - during the war that would brand them as war criminals, and I don't see any of them being brought to justice! Rem was under orders when she killed those 'Bots - just like the Wreckers were on their missions! Besides, Rem saved your life - or are you so thick in the helm that you don't remember that?"_

 _Ultra Magnus' optics narrowed slightly. "I remember, but I also remember that Rem also tried to kill me on more than one occasion."_

 _Bumblebee opened his mouth to retort, but Magnus cut him off before he could get a word out._

 _"I also know that Rem wasn't always acting on orders when she was killing bots - I know about her partner and the fate that he suffered."_

 _"That was_ years _ago, Magnus. Rem is different now."_

 _Ultra Magnus' just stared at him, and said, "That does not change anything, Bumblebee, Rem made her choice - it is out of my servos. I advise that when the bot the Council sent arrives that you give them your full cooperation, otherwise you will be brought back in cuffs, as well."_

Bumblebee couldn't understand Ultra Magnus' reasoning for denying Rem's return to Cybertron. All because she was a former 'Con and a supposed war criminal in the optics of the Council. That was a load of slag in his opinion, Rem had helped with the restoration of Cybertron after the war had ended and had every right to go back any time she wished to. It was her home planet, too. It just wasn't fair! Sure she had killed hundreds of Autobots (that they can confirm, that is)during the war but that was war - and they had all killed bots.

In order to blow off some steam, Bumblebee had decided to go for a drive. Rounding another curve, Bumblebee groaned when he caught sight of two army-issued trucks behind him - and taking a quick look at his scanners he was treated to the sight of three more just up the road ahead of him. Hoping that his comm. was still working, 'Bee tried to contact the team, only to be greeted by static. This just wasn't his day.

"Great! Just when I thought my day couldn't get any worse - it goes and gets worse on me."

After everything he had dealt with today, MECH was the last thing he wanted to deal with.

Escape was impossible, that Bumblebee already knew. The cliff side on his left was too steep to climb and the drop to his right... Well, lets just say that he wouldn't be able to walk away from something like that unscathed. To make matters worse, the road that he was currently traveling on was not the best place to have a confrontation on. Silently, he cursed himself for declining Strongarm's offer to go with him.

Transforming back into robot mode, Bee quickly leaned to the left to avoid being hit by a missile.

Big mistake on his part because the missile hit the cliff side of the road, making the ground below Bumblebee fall away.

"Scrap!" He yelled, scrambling to get a hand hold somewhere as he slid down the cliff.

Eventually, Bee realized that there was no way he could slow his decent. Then, an idea hit him. If he catapulted himself off the cliff... there was a slim chance that he would be able to reach the high-rising tree farther away from the cliff. Transforming, he gunned his engine and launched himself off the cliff, praying to Primus that he would hit his target.

He never made it.

A large shadow fell on him, and the Autobot soon found himself in the talons of a Predacon. At first he thought that it was Predaking but he dashed that suggestion when a familiar voice reached his audio receptors.

"Wow! We caught a big fish today, Brimstone! You OK, Autobot?"

"Atti?!"

"The One-and-Only, Autobot," She said, Bee could almost hear the smile in her voice. Angling one of his mirrors, Bumblebee saw the teen sitting on the half-Predacon's back looking down at him with her legs dangling and a smirk on her face that reminded Bumblebee of Starscream. It him if Atti had inherited any of the Seeker's more volatile personality traits when it came to the treatment of Autobots - he sure hoped not. He tried to transform out of vehicle mode, but the Predacon's tightening grip made him stop.

"Sorry. I probably should have told not to try and transform," chuckled Atti. "It's hard for Brimstone to keep a hold of bots when they transform when he's flying. So unless you want to fall to your death, Autobot, I suggest that you stay still until we land... Or until we drop you in the ocean. Whichever comes first. Personally, I would drop you but my friend here is a bit more humane so it's your lucky day."

 _Sure it is._ He thought to himself as they flew.

Where? He had no clue but he was sure that anywhere would be better (and safer) than being stuck in the air in the talons of a Predacon and a (almost) mini-Starscream.

They were over Crown City, using the thick clouds as cover, when Atti suddenly shouted. Bumblebee's spark nearly stopped.

"Brimstone! Look there! Lets drop him off there. I've always wanted to drop a 'Bot onto a garbage barge!"

Bee let out a sigh of relief. Then reality hit him.

"WAIT?! WHAT?! NONONONONONONONONO!" He yelled. Bumblebee tried to transform when they were briefly over the water, but Brimstone's grip on him was too strong.

And then he was dropped onto the barge, landing in a large pile of smelly garbage. Transforming, Bumblebee pulled himself from the pile and shivered in disgust when he felt some of it stuck in his transformation seams and joints. Looking out towards the ocean, he frowned at the slowly disappearing shape of the young Predacon as he retook cover in the clouds.

Bumblebee made a mental note to have a nice LONG chat with Starscream the next time he saw him... And to find a way to get back at Atti.

* * *

#Laurentian Abyss base - Nemesis II#%Starscream's POV%

* * *

Starscream wasn't prepared for the violent shiver that traveled down his back. His wings shook with the intensity and cold rushed through every inch of his frame.

 _Why do I feel as if my life is potentially in danger?_ He thought to himself, tapping a claw against his chin.

Suddenly, Starscream heard his daughter's laughter and he knew in an instant that she had done something that she shouldn't have.

Getting up from his desk, Starscream stepped out of his office and crossed his arms across his chassis.

"Atti! What did you do _this_ time?"

His daughter stopped dead in her tracks and slowly turned to face him, red optics wide in shock. A shaky, nervous smile appeared on her face.

"W-What makes you s-say that? I haven't done a-anything to any Autobots." She said.

Starscream's optics narrowed and he tapped his claws against his forearm, and said, "I never said anything about Autobots."

If Cybertronians were able to pale like humans did when shocked, Atti would have done so at that very moment. His daughter shot a pleading look at Brimestone, the Predacon youngling just shook his helm and kept walking, then took off running down a side passageway.

"Atti, you get back here this instant!" shouted Starscream, chasing after his daughter.

It wouldn't be until Soundwave, sick of all the noise waking his two-month-old sparkling from recharge, grabbed Atti by the pede with one of his tentacles that Starscream was able to get the truth out of Atti and punish her (nothing severe given the fact that he would have done the same thing in her place). Afterwards, as he was frog marching Atti back to her quarters, Starscream wondered what kind of punishment Soundwave would deal his son Brimstone for his part in dumping the Autobot onto the garbage barge.(?)

* * *

 ** _Hope you all enjoyed this chapter!_**

 ** _:)_**

 ** _Sorry for the super late update. Hospital visits are a pain._**


	16. Chapter 16

**Old Friends, New Problems**

 **Side story**

Just thought it would be nice to take a break from the main story line for a while.

Note: this is probably going to be the last story I'm going to update for a while.

Note #2: This side story is not going to be told from Rem's point of view.

Note #3: This all takes place roughly two years before Team Bee came to Earth.

* * *

Rivers woke to darkness and the smell of gasoline and to the copper taste of blood in his mouth. Blinking slowly, Rivers waited for his eyes to adjust enough to the dark so that he could see where he was. It took a few minutes but eventually they adjusted enough that he could tell that he was in a cell of some sort, the walls and ceiling were metal while the floor was (strangely) dirt, there was no window but a corner, next to the dark outline of a door, was the slow, red-blinking light of a security camera. Sitting up, Rivers propped himself up against the wall and touched a hand to his sore left cheek. He winced slightly when his dirt-covered hand made contact with the gash there and dropped his hand into his lap. Looking up at the metal ceiling, Rivers tried to remember just what it had been to land him here in this crude cell with a gashed cheek and a headache that made him feel like he got ran over by Indie's truck - twice. But all he could remember was the sound of a breaking window and crushing metal, a bright flash of light, and the voice of a woman shouting at him. At the thought, the image of a black-haired, violet-eyed woman appeared in his mind.

"Rem..."

The word came out without a second thought. It sounded strange on his lips and he guessed that it was possibly the woman's name.

The woman... Rivers felt like he knew her from somewhere... But where? Work? He shook his head, and cast that thought aside. She didn't look like someone who would be a cop, so it was unlikely that he would know her from work. Could he have seen her off duty? _No,_ he thought to himself, _I would have remembered seeing her around town... and she doesn't look like any of Cooper's friends._ Rivers couldn't see the vibrant, energetic red-headed detective being friends with someone who looked so serious. So if she wasn't a cop or a friend of Cooper's... then who was she? Rivers pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed in frustration. He shouldn't be focusing on trying to figure out who this woman was! Instead he should be thinking of a way out of this cell.

Moving to stand, Rivers groaned and sat back down when the room began to spin suddenly. He must have been hit harder than he originally thought. Closing his eyes Rivers took several deep breaths and waited for the pounding in his head to stop. Nothing made any sense... how did he go from coordinating a series of murders with the FBI to waking up in a cell? The image of the woman - Rem - flashed in his mind, again, but this time it was her standing over a body with a strange-looking silver gun in her hand. Feelings of shock and anger rushed through Rivers, and it was then that he realized that what he was seeing was a memory.

Just what was going on?!

 _ **\- 72 hours before -**_

Lights from cameras and patrol cars flashed and the smell of death hung in the air as Rivers stepped out of his car. His partner, Elizabeth Connie "Cooper" Franklynz, practically jumped out of the passenger side of the car and was at his side before he could reprimand her for her VERY undetective-like behavior. Luckily, he was used to the red-head's hyper-ness. Rolling his eyes, Rivers made his way over to where the M.E. was examining a body. The crime scene was in a small park near a fountain.

"What can you tell me, James?" asked Rivers, kneeling down beside the M.E.

"The victim's name is Herbert Crossings, age 34," listed the young M.E., jotting down something on his clipboard.

"Cause of death?"

"Straight shot through the heart by the looks of it, just like all the others, but I'll know more when I get him back to the morgue."

Rivers nodded and stood. Then, "How long has he been dead?"

"Liver temperature would indicate that he's been dead for at least 6 to 8 hours. Now, you might want to collect that partner of yours before she breaks her neck falling out of that tree behind us."

Whipping around, and looking up, Rivers nearly fell over in shock when he saw that James was right. Hanging upside down from a branch about ten feet from the ground was Cooper trying to dislodge something from between two intertwined branches below her. Walking up to the tree, Rivers called up to his partner, "Cooper! Get down from there before you break your neck!"

"Hold on, Rivers!" she shouted back, "There's something strange up here!"

Shaking his head, Rivers crossed his arms and waited for his partner to finish up.

"Excuse me, are you Detective Leonel Rivets?" came a voice behind him.

Turning, Rivers met the gaze of dark-haired man with green eyes. The man radiated authority, which gave Rivers the impression that this man was most likely FBI or something. "Yes, that's me."

"My name is Agent Kane, I'm with the FBI," The man reached into his pocket and presented his badge.

"What can I do for you, Agent Kane?"

"My team and I were called in by your chief to help you solve the recent string of murders."

The corner of Rivers' mouth pulled up into a smirk. "So the chief finally put aside his pride and called in for help?" The smirk vanished and was instantly replaced with a sharp frown. "About time..."

If it had been up to Rivers, he would have called in the FBI four bodies ago, but the Chief of Police was too stubborn to admit that they had a serial killer in their town. Rivers guessed that it was the killing of Mr. Jeremiah, a local dentist and friend of the mayor, that finally got the chief to cave in and call. Rivers was so engulfed in his thoughts, he didn't see the strange purple car, or its driver, pulling to a stop on the other side of the park.

...

Later that night, as he was driving home, Rivers felt like he was being follow but whenever he looked into his rearview he saw nothing there. When he drove down the short length of forest road the feeling momentarily disappeared until he left the cover of the trees, again. Looking into his rearview once again, Rivers saw the exact same amount of nothingness as he did before. Pulling up in his drive way, Rivers looked around carefully as he climbed out of his car and walked into the house, locking his car door remotely. After he quickly stepped into his house, the watchful feeling disappeared and Rivers mentally sighed in relief, then turned to lock his door.

Big mistake, because the minute he turned his back something was pressed to the back of his head, a gun (though the end of the barrel felt strangely smooth). Slowly, Rivers attempted to get his gun from its holster on his hip but his captor must've seen what he was up to and slammed the butt of the gun against his head, sending Rivers crashing to the ground in a heap. When he pushed himself onto his side, Rivers found himself staring down the barrel of the gun.

"That was very rude, Detective Rivets."

Rivers' eyes drifted from the gun to the one holding it: a woman. She was pale, and had long, black hair that was pulled back into a ponytail on top of her head, and was wearing sunglasses - which struck him as strange since the only thing that was on was the lamp by the front door (Rivers guessed that he probably forgot to turn it off when he left that morning).

"What do you want?"

A corner of the woman's lips curled upward into a small smirk. "Humans - always so curious," she hummed, "Don't worry, detective, I'm not here to kill you."

Rivers raised a brow. "Then what are you doing here? Who are you?" He asked.

The woman sighed and stood, but kept her gun trained at Rivers' head. "Who I am is not important, detective - I'm just here trying to repay an old debt. And since you haven't been paying attention my previous warnings, I decided that it was time to take a more direct approach."

"That was you?!"

For a week, Rivers received several letters from an anonymous sender telling him to stay off the case. Originally, Rivers thought that they were just a prank but then the letters began to state that if he didn't get of the case, people close to him would get hurt. After that, Rivers had taken all the letters he had received and showed them to his chief and had taken the liberty to phoning his mother and younger sister to find someplace safe to stay until the case was solved.

The woman nodded. "Yes, it was. Now, listen," she said sharply. There was a small moment of silence before she spoke again, "You are in way over your head, get off the case and leave it to the more expendable humans to deal with."

Rivers frowned sharply and narrowed his eyes. "Why do you care? Are you the one killing these innocent people?"

The woman's face suddenly went neutral and her grip on the gun tightened a fraction, and Rivers was sure that she was going to shoot him right then and there.

"Those humans were far from innocent, detective," she said coldly, "And, no, I'm not the one who killed them. Nor do I care whether you heed my words or not. Like I said, I'm just trying to repay an old debt."

"What debt?"

"Someone saved my life and I'm returning the favor by trying to save yours, it's as simple as that."

Rivers opened his mouth to say more but a sudden series of familiar clicks shut him up. His attention shot down to the gun still pointed at him. Glowing, ice-blue lines lit up the sides of the gun and a slight humming sound began to emanate from it as well. Rivers looked up at the woman then back to the gun. She just stared at him, face neutral.

"I'll be in touch, detective."

Before Rivers could say anything, there was a brief sensation of pain and the feeling of being shocked. Then everything went black.

* * *

 ** _Hope you all enjoyed the first chapter in this side story._**

 ** _Please review! :)_**


End file.
